The Conservative Party of the future will struggle to convince the next generation to give them the

Barring a complete change of fortune, the Conservatives are on course for electoral oblivion. Many will put this down to Prime Minister Liz Truss’s (mis)handling of the economy since she and her crew of swashbuckling free marketeers commandeered the ship, but in truth this has simply accelerated the journey into an inevitable iceberg. The pendulum of public opinion swings endlessly, and after 12 years in power the Tories were always going to run out of gas, especially at current prices. But if, as many are starting to predict, the Tories face a good ten years in the wilderness, they will have to do some serious soul searching. A complete rebrand is needed to undo years of foundational decline, stemming primarily from a desertion of young voters.

The rhetoric espoused by some Conservative MPs about struggling families cutting back on takeaways and subscription services to cope with soaring energy costs this winter will be remembered by voters. Young people especially have spent years being told to stop buying Starbucks and Dominos to save themselves some dosh. But, after tax, rent, student debt payments, travel costs, and other essential monthly expenditures, the young aren’t left with much. Do you really blame us for spending what little we have left to distract ourselves from the depressing reality that we’ve basically got to live like a 17th century puritan on a diet of oats to have a hope of long term financial stability?

Speaking to peers of a similar age to mine (mid 20s), it becomes apparent that no young person even considers saving for a mortgage as a realistic option. While researching for this piece I discovered the jolly news that the average deposit on a property for a first time buyer in the UK is around £60,000. In the capital the average is almost double. And with mortgage rates having spiked post-Hurricane Kwasi, the likelihood of most of my peers and I getting onto the property ladder before the age of 35 is equivalent to that of Liz Truss serving a decade in office. Not impossible but I wouldn’t bet my house on it at the minute. Oh wait, I don’t have a house to bet…

Climate consciousness could define the Carolean era

“Stability”, “constancy” and “duty” are adjectives we have heard many times this week as commentators reflect upon Queen Elizabeth II’s seven decade reign. In part, her success and the enduring popularity of the monarchy can be attributed to the Queen’s ability to remain distinct from Westminster squabble.

The same cannot be said for her son, the new King Charles III, who in his own words, has a habit of “sticking my head above the parapet and generally getting it shot off”. It is on climate change and the environment that the King has been most outspoken, and arguably the most successful. His climate activism began half a century ago, with a speech in 1970 on the “cancerous forms” of pollution, and since then the King has written books, established foundations and lobbied ministers on environmental causes. In his personal life, the heir apparent pursued a green agenda, installing solar panels on Clarence House, and hydroelectric turbines and biomass boilers at Balmoral. The King’s vintage Aston Martin even runs on excess wine and cheese whey.

So the question is now whether King Charles will resign himself to political neutrality like his mother, or defy convention and become an “ecological warrior King” as the Washington Post suggests.

Even if the King does pursue a more activist approach, he has already shown he is cognisant of the constraints placed upon him. In the first few days of his reign he has already pledged several times to “maintain the precious principles of constitutional government which lie at the heart of our nation”. However there are subtle ways in which the King can continue to champion the environmental issues so close to his heart.

King Charles can demonstrate his support through his choice of visits and speeches, albeit using more veiled language. We should expect increasing patronage of environmental charities, a determination to attend totemic events such as November’s COP 27, and the use of other mechanisms – such as the honours system – to reward those who share his prioritisation of the environment.

What is less clear is whether we will see Prince William become a more vocal advocate on the issue of climate change, or whether the new King can successfully mobilise an at times reluctant Commonwealth to spearhead multilateral efforts to combat it. Needless to say, we imagine Liz Truss’s weekly visit to the King may become one the new PM, and her pro-fracking administration, come to dread.

Monarchist, Republican or somewhere in between, the past week has been a strange one by all accounts. But for the climate conscious amongst us, the coronation of King Charles may be the moment we have been waiting for. A leader with decades of environmental activism and a mindset defined in centuries rather than election cycles, King Charles’ reign could conserve a world for many monarchs to come.

Coffey’s Comms Challenge

The day after her appointment as Health Secretary, Thérèse Coffey announced her NHS approach: ABCD. Ambulances, Backlog, Care, Doctors and Dentists. Although an admittedly snappy slogan, the issues Coffey faces can’t be condensed into a nursery rhyme. In fact, her linguistic style has already raised eyebrows after a miscalculated email to civil servants requested them to stop using the Oxford comma.

Such trivial preferences don’t mix well with the harsh realities of the current NHS crisis. There are over 105,000 job vacancies. The NHS waiting list has hit 6.8 million and will not peak until 2024. This is compounded by the failure of previous Tory ministers to implement effective NHS reform for over twelve years. Coffey inherits the narrative that her party is pro-privatisation and that it is underfunding the NHS, a narrative which has bubbled away, if not grown, as the years have passed.

Tomorrow is expected to be Coffey’s first major communications challenge as Health Secretary, as she sets out an “emergency plan” to tackle the issues facing the NHS. So what can she do?

Coffey must communicate with urgency to soothe fears over the winter. It remains to be seen whether her dual position as Health Secretary and Deputy PM will be a blessing or a curse, potentially leaving her over-stretched. However, her broader remit over the government’s affairs stands her in a good position to talk about the health crises facing the UK in a more holistic, and consequently more meaningful way. Coffey must also recognise and seek to rectify the way the cost of living crisis will impact health outcomes: recent reports of plans to set up ‘warm banks’ with food and heating in NHS centres risk creating dystopian images.

Articulating a distinctive policy from her predecessors is also a challenge. The flurry of health secretaries over the last two years has produced plenty of new announcements but little decisive action. The first signs are not promising, as recent reports suggest that one of her headline announcements will be plans to cut four-hour A&E waiting times. Although this would be an excellent policy outcome, sadly this four-hour target has not been met since 2015. Framing success in such a manner is high risk.

Equally, Thursday’s announcement would benefit from triaging. Chucking money at the NHS is not popular among Tory voters with seven in ten noting their dissatisfaction with the NHS stems from a perception of money wasting. Some ranking system amongst Coffey’s ABCDs would allow her to flex her often noted fastidiousness and provide a soothing sense of strategy to jumpy Tory voters fearful of overspending.

The Tories have rarely found communicating about the NHS easy. Record investments in healthcare have not matched increasing demand and have failed to allay suspicion of the party’s motives. Tomorrow the party gets another opportunity. Two-thirds of the country have not heard of Thérèse Coffey and first impressions count.